‘Language Week’ at Jennie F. Snapp Middle School gives students a hands-on learning experience

ENDICOTT (WBNG) -- This week is “Language Week” at Jennie F. Snapp Middle School and Italian and Spanish students have been celebrating with hands-on learning.

Italian & Spanish Teacher Celia Randesi-Temple turned her classroom into a kitchen to celebrate this week.

Her Italian students helped to make homemade pasta, gnocchi and Italian desserts. Her Spanish students helped make empanadas, refried beans and salsa.

Randesi-Temple said by having students take part in this activity they are able to look deeper into the cultures of the countries they are learning about and take a break from learning grammar and language.

“For me, it’s sharing not only my love for the language and the culture but also my love for the cooking,” said Randesi-Temple. “It’s how I can show my students that love is through the food and show them how you can make the food and take pride in the work and how actually things are prepared from the country that we are learning about.”

Randesi-Temple said she can notice the change in excitement for her students during this week

“In the classroom, you see their faces where they are bored and they don’t want to be there,” said Randesi-Temple. ‘Then it switches to them popping in their heads in the middle of the day to see what’s going on, what are we cooking and then coming in and being excited to learn.”

For eighth-grade student Catello Long, this week has been a great outside-of-the-box experience.

“It’s way more fun,” said Long. “We get to learn the culture and the food and do it hands-on. It’s really great.”

At the end of the week, students in both classes will be to sit down and eat the food they prepared as a culmination of their hard work.

Copyright 2023 WBNG. All rights reserved.